EVANSDALE, Iowa – Hunters discovered two bodies Wednesday believed to be the young Iowa cousins who vanished five months ago while riding their bikes, authorities said.

The families of 9-year-old Elizabeth Collins and 11-year-old Lyric Cook have been notified of the discovery and are asking for privacy, Black Hawk County sheriff’s Capt. Rick Abben said. He declined to say where the bodies were found or whether there were suspects in the girls’ disappearance.

The cousins were last seen July 13 near a popular recreational lake in Evansdale, a city about 110 miles northeast of Des Moines. Investigators found their bicycles and a pink purse near the lake hours later, but no sign of the girls.

“It’s definitely not the outcome that we wanted, obviously,” Abben said, appearing to fight back tears during a news conference in Evansdale. “This is a difficult thing for us to go through. It’s a difficult thing for the community.”

He said the bodies were being sent to the state medical examiner’s office to confirm their identities.

A vigil was being held Wednesday night for the girls at the lake.

Hundreds of volunteers had helped investigators search for girls after they went missing, traipsing through cornfields and wooded areas in and around Evansdale, a city of 8,000 residents.

Days later, an FBI dive team brought in specialized equipment to search the bottom of the lake for the girls but found nothing. Police then classified the case as an abduction.

Investigators had largely been tight-lipped in the months since. An FBI spokeswoman initially said investigators had reason to believe the girls were alive, raising the region’s hopes. But other investigators backtracked, saying only that there was no reason to believe the girls were dead.

Authorities had asked hunters to look for the girls in the region during this fall’s popular deer hunting season.

Abben said the bodies were discovered around 12:45 p.m. Wednesday but would not say where, saying the area was still being processed as a crime scene.

“Preservation of that scene is paramount,” he said.

Abben said the girls’ families wanted to thank the community for their support but have asked the media to respect their privacy at this time.